Hundreds gather to honor slain Spring family and sole survivor

Updated 11:38 pm, Saturday, July 12, 2014

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 1of/19

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 19

Cassidy Stay, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, lets a balloon go during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring. She is standing next to Drew Lyons, center, and Roger Lyons. less

Cassidy Stay, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, lets a balloon go during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 2 of 19

A shirt memorializing the Stay family is worn during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

A shirt memorializing the Stay family is worn during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 3 of 19

Cassidy Stay, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, lets a balloon go during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring. She is seated next to her uncle Drew Lyons. less

Cassidy Stay, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, lets a balloon go during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 4 of 19

Balloons fly skyward during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

Balloons fly skyward during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 5 of 19

Balloons fly skyward during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

Balloons fly skyward during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 6 of 19

Cassidy Stay, far right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, wipes her eyes during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring. She is seated next to Drew Lyons. less

Cassidy Stay, far right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, wipes her eyes during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 7 of 19

A supporter greets Cassidy Stay, far right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring. She is seated next to her uncle Drew Lyons. less

A supporter greets Cassidy Stay, far right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 8 of 19

Cassidy Stay, far right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, wipes her eyes during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring. She is seated next to her uncle Drew Lyons.

Cassidy Stay, far right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, wipes her eyes during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday,

Cassidy Stay, right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, gestures to supporters after speaking at a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring. She is seated next to her uncle Drew Lyons. less

Cassidy Stay, right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, gestures to supporters after speaking at a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 10 of 19

Cassidy Stay, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, lets a balloon go during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring. She is seated next to her uncle Drew Lyons. less

Cassidy Stay, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, lets a balloon go during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 11 of 19

Cassidy Stay, right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, waves to supporters following a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring. She is seated next to her uncle Drew Lyons. less

Cassidy Stay, right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, waves to supporters following a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 12 of 19

Cassidy Stay, right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, gestures to supporters following a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring. She is seated next to her uncle Drew Lyons. less

Cassidy Stay, right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, gestures to supporters following a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 13 of 19

Cassidy Stay, right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, waves to supporters following a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring. She is seated next to her uncle Drew Lyons. less

Cassidy Stay, right, lone survivor of the mass shooting of her parents and siblings, waves to supporters following a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 14 of 19

People hold balloons as the gather for a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

People hold balloons as the gather for a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 15 of 19

A note of support is written, to be attached to a balloon, during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

A note of support is written, to be attached to a balloon, during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 16 of 19

A lone balloon flies in the air during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

A lone balloon flies in the air during a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 17 of 19

People hold balloons as the gather for a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

People hold balloons as the gather for a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 18 of 19

People hold balloons as the gather for a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

People hold balloons as the gather for a community memorial celebrating the lives of the Stay family at Lemm Elementary School Saturday, July 12, 2014, in Spring.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle

Image 19 of 19

Hundreds gather to honor slain Spring family and sole survivor

1 / 19

Back to Gallery

Just a day after being released from the hospital, a determined Cassidy Stay took center stage at a memorial ceremony Saturday morning to grieve with hundreds of friends and neighbors and to search for light in the horrifying murder of her parents and four siblings.

Fifteen-year-old Stay thanked first responders, doctors and well-wishers for their tremendous support as she stood at a podium outside a Spring elementary school in sweltering mid-morning heat.

"I'm really thankful for all of the people who have been praying for me and keeping me and my family in their thoughts these past few days," Cassidy said. "I'm feeling a lot better, and I'm on a straightforward path to recovery."

Then, she quoted a passage from a Harry Potter novel that had comforted her in the days following that bloody and terrifying evening.

"In The Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore says, 'Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.' I know that my mom, dad, Bryan, Emily, Becca and Zach are in a much better place," she said, her voice catching. "And I'll be able to see them again one day... Stay Strong!"

Hundreds of Spring residents, neighbors, and friends of the Stay family assembled outside Lemm Elementary School Saturday to mourn the deaths and celebrate her survival. They held balloons with hand-written notes tied to them, waiting to release them into the air.

Samantha Heaton held one, with a note attached which read, "We will take good care of Cassidy. She will be well taken care of in her [Klein Collins] Band."

Heaton, who lives near the Stay's home on Leaflet Lane, said she heard helicopters scouring the area Wednesday, after police first received reports of the shooting.

Ronald Lee Haskell, a 33-year-old Utah man who was married to Cassidy's maternal aunt before their divorce earlier this year, has been charged with capital murder in the deaths of Cassidy's parents and siblings.

Authorities say that on Wednesday evening, he arrived at the home of Katie and Stephen Stay, dressed as a FedEx delivery driver. He had worked for the company until January of this year, according to company officials.

Haskell asked to see Stay's parents, but left after she told him they weren't there. He returned a short time later, and entered the home again, allegedly tying up Cassidy and her siblings and waiting for her parents to return home from the bank.

When they arrived, he apparently also tied them up and made them lie facedown, asking for the whereabouts of Melannie Lyon, his ex-wife, before shooting them in the back of the head. Stay's parents, Stephen, 39, and Katie, 34, and her siblings, Bryan, 13; Emily, 9; Rebecca, 7; and Zach, 4, all died.

Cassidy was injured in the head and hand in the shooting, but survived by playing dead and waiting until Haskell fled in the family's Honda sedan, then called authorities. Police intercepted him as he was driving to the nearby home of Cassidy's grandparents, where Lyon and her children were also living.

The call she made to authorities after he left likely saved their lives, Roger Lyon, Stay's maternal grandfather, told the crowd.

"We continue to be in awe of how [Cassidy] was able to save us," he said. "She had been shot and witnessed the murder of her mother and father and siblings. Still, she had the presence of mind to remain quiet, to play dead, and as soon as it was safe, despite the terrible things she must have seen, at that moment she called police, and told them we were in danger. Without her courage and quick thinking, we might be mourning the deaths of 20 people today, including myself and my children and grandchildren."

Like Cassidy, he tried to find good amid the devastation.

"In so many different ways, it is difficult to imagine how we will ever move on," he said. "The best way we can is to concentrate on the living, to cling to the hope of life that has emerged in this terrible darkness, for all the lives that were spared, including our own."

Haskell appeared in court on Friday morning and collapsed while listening to the criminal accusations against him. Cassidy, who had been taken by helicopter to Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital after the shooting, was released from the hospital Friday and is expected to make a full recovery.

The shooting made national news, prompting well-wishers from around the globe to donate more than $220,000 to a gofundme.com site that supporters started on the family's behalf.

Event organizers said they hadn't been sure Cassidy and her relatives would even attend Saturday's ceremony. According to Jody Dellinger, who runs a recreation center the family often visited and who started the online fundraiser, family members hadn't planned on attending until Cassidy told them "I'll get on my bike and ride over there if I have to."

Kathy Brown, Lemm's principal, said Bryan, Emily, and Rebecca had all been students at Lemm, describing them as determined, loving and engaging students. Rebecca had spent hours with her mom prepping for a two-minute routine in the school's talent show, Brown said, adding "What determination she had as a kindergartner — one of three kindergartner performers."

Emily, Stay's 9-year-old sister, "greeted everyone with kind words and huge smile daily," Brown said, remembering the young girl sneaking out of line to hug her friends.

Bryan, the 13-year-old who had moved on to middle school, had also been known for his enthusiasm and happy smile, she said.

Brown said she started getting calls about the shooting less than 10 minutes after police first reached the Stay's home.

While Cassidy was recovering in the hospital, she told her family some of what had transpired, her grandfather said.

"She had learned in Sunday school that God has the power to send angels in times of great need. After being shot Wednesday, she said it felt as though those angels were there with her, putting their hands over her mouth, whispering to her to be quiet," Lyon said, later adding, "We have wondered in the course of past few days if those angels might have been her brothers and sisters."

Precinct 4 Constable Sgt. George Beck, who was the first deputy at the scene, told the crowd to focus on the positive that had emerged from the tragedy.

"It's a victory, folks," he said, of Stay's survival and presence there after all of Wednesday's bloodshed and sadness. "This is a victory, of everything. It's OK to cry, but tears of joy. Lets all stick together, God bless you."

After the ceremony, neighbors and well-wishers echoed his sentiments.

"I'm very thankful she was able to be sitting up there," said Bethany Moore, as Stay waved to her friends from an SUV as she was being driven home. "I can't imagine being in her place."

Latest from the Chron.com Homepage

Click below for the top news from around the Houston area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.